Sagah: Disease surveillance programme in Ulu Undop out to boost health preparedness in Sarawak
KUCHING (May 27): The Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC) has begun a disease surveillance programme in Ulu Undop, marking a significant milestone in Sarawak's efforts in strengthening its health preparedness and response mechanisms.
In this regard, Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Sarawak Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn hailed the Ulu Undop move as the first of several planned initiatives under SIDC, with two additional sites in Kuching expected to be launched later this year.
'This is part of our broader strategy to enhance early detection and response, especially in rural and vulnerable areas,' he said in his winding-up speech at the DUN sitting yesterday.
It is also informed that in tandem with its surveillance efforts, SIDC is also piloting latent tuberculosis diagnosis in high-risk areas as a precursor to the Sarawak Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (STEP).
Adding on, Sagah said construction of the SIDC facility in Samarahan, which kicked off in March last year, was progressing on schedule.
On the international front, he said the SIDC had signed several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on May 6 with the University of Edinburgh, the ROSE Foundation (based at Universiti Malaya), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), and other global partners to advance research in diagnostics, 'One Health', human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling, and also potential vaccine development.
'SIDC also launched the Ali Wallace Joint Research and Training Centre with Murdoch University,' said the Tarat assemblyman, adding that 10 SIDC staff members wold undergo training in Australia, with four Murdoch researchers currently being based in Sarawak.
'Two PhD slots have also been allocated to SIDC under this partnership, with Murdoch supporting the Centre's AI-enabled ICT design.'
Sagah also highlighted SIDC's collaboration with the Department of Veterinary Services to deploy portable genome sequencing to monitor African Swine Fever Virus and also to bolster biosecurity in the pork industry.
'These strategic partnerships, both local and international, reaffirm Sarawak's commitment to being at the forefront of infectious disease research and public health innovation,' he pointed out. healthcare Roland Sagah Wee Inn Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre
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